Paving dowel supporting structure



1952 J. 5. STEWART PAVING DOWEL SUPPORTING STRUCTURE Filed Nov. 17, 1951 5a 22 45 47 as 49 4a 45 4? as 49 48 /NVNTO/?. JAMES 5. Sn: wmer 7 BY HIS ATTORNEYS.

HERE/); K/ECH, Fosrae & HARRIS Patented Nov. 18, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PAVING DOWEL SUPPORTING STRUCTURE James S. Stewart, Santa Barbara, Calif., assignor to Stanley Ball, Alhambra, Cali Application November 17, 1951, Serial No. 256,939

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a paving dowel supporting structure designed to be utilized in supporting paving dowels which are incorporated in the concrete of a road or other structure as it is laid.

When concrete roads and other concrete surfaces are laid, it is common practice to form the lanes of the roads or the sections of. other surfaces in separate, parallel lanes or sections. In order to bind adjoining lanes or sections together so that they may be maintained in the same horizontal plane and be prevented from spreading away from one another, transverse metallic paving dowels are embedded in the concrete of the lanes or sections as they are laid, said dowels having portions extending from the edges of the lanes or sections already poured which may be embedded in the concrete of an adjoining lane or section when it is poured. Thus, the separately poured lanes or sections are maintained in lateral and longitudinal alignment and movement of one lane or section with reference to another is prevented.

II Some of the major disadvantages encountered in prior art dowel supporting structures have been the fact that conventional dowel supporting structures are provided with a plurality of aper tures or openings and numerous excrescenses through which the poured concrete is respectively able to flow and about which it is respectively able toagglomerate, thus materially impeding the removal of the dowel supporting structure from the free ends of the dowels after the concrete has been poured.

It is, therefore, a primary object of my invention to provide a paving dowel supporting structure which consists of a minimum number of component parts which are not exposed to concrete as it is poured so that the deposition and agglomeration of concrete thereupon is prevented and the difliculty of disassembly encountered with prior art dowel supporting structures is eliminated.

An additional object of my invention is the provision of a dowel supporting structure which includes a dowel retainer having a plurality of openings therein through which the free ends of the dowels may project, said openings being provided with sealing means which encompass the peripheries of the dowels which project therethrough to prevent the influx of concrete into thedowel retainer which would cause the ends of the dowels in the interior of the retainer to be covered with concrete and fixedly positioned in the retainer, thus rendering the removal of the retainer 2 from the dowels extremely difilcult. By the use of the sealing means of my invention, the possibility of concrete influx is eliminated and the interior of the dowel retainer is kept completely free of concrete, thus permitting the retainer to be readily removed from the dowels; after the concrete has been poured.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a structure of the aforementioned character in which the sealing means for the dowel receiving openings are constituted by a plurality of sealing members having resilient or flexible portions engageable with the peripheries of the dowels where they project through the openings and having substantially stiff portions for overlying the open ings around the dowels to prevent the influx of concrete through said openings.

It is common practice to bend paving dowels into right'angles, one leg of each dowel beingdisposed in a retainer of some sort while the other end thereof is projected through an opening in the retainer over the prepared bed of a lane so that the concrete may be deposited upon the projecting leg of the dowel to secure it in the lane. After the concrete has set, the dowel retainer must be removed from the dowels and it is necessary to straighten the bent legs of the dowels to permit such removal. When the dowels are bent outwardly to straighten them, a hump is generally formed in the dowel immediately adjacent or at the right angle bend which previously existed in the dowel. These humps frequently render it extremely difficult to remove the dowel retainers fromthe dowels and considerable time is wasted in accomplishin such removal.

A.-further object of my invention is the provision of a dowel retainer for paving dowels which has a plurality of dowel receiving orifices formed in a wall thereof, said orifices being substantially over-size so that, when the bent legs of the dowels are straightened, the over-size dowel receiving openings will permit the removal of the retainer from the dowels because the humps left in the dowels at the bends therein will be accommodated by the over-size dowel receiving openings.

v Another object of my invention is the provision of a dowel retainer of the aforementioned type in which the over-size openings therein are provided with sealing means mountable upon the peripheries of the dowels extending through the openings for overlying the borders of the openings to prevent the influx of concrete into the retainer. Since the dowel receiving openings are the only openings in the wall of the retainer and since these openings are completely sealed by the seal,-

ing means mounted upon the peripheries of the dowels projecting therethrough, it is impossible for concrete to flow into the interior of the retainer and agglomeration difliculties encountered with prior art devices are eliminated.

Dowel retainers and supports are conventionally utilized in conjunction with paving forms which consist of a base, a vertical wall extending upwardly from said base and a tread provided at the top of said vertical wall, the retainers being mounted on the vertical wall to suspend them at an appropriate height so that the dowels supported and retained thereby may be maintained in the desired position when the concrete is poured thereupon. Conventionally, the retainers are provided with bolt holes in a wall thereof through which bolts are inserted, the free ends of the bolts fitting into bolt receiving openings in the vertical wall of the paving form and having a nut or other fastener engageable therewith to maintain the retainers on the vertical wall. Ob-

viously, the insertion of these bolts consumes a considerable amount of time, and concrete can flow through over-size bolt holes when the heads of the bolts are not flush with the wall of the retainer thus permitting the interior of the retainer to be filled with concrete and the bolt heads themselves become encrusted with concrete rendering it extremely difficult to remove the bolts from the retainers when disassembly of the retainers from the paving form is desired.

It is another object of my invention to provide a paving dowel retainer which includes a plurality of fasteners supported on an interior wall thereof, said fasteners being receivable in suitably formed apertures in the vertical wall of the paving form. Since these fasteners are secured to the interior wall of the retainer, the superfluous openings found in conventional retainers are eliminated and the possibility of the influx of concrete therethrough is also obviated. Furthermore, the incrustation occurring with conventional fasteners which have portions projecting beyond the retainer is eliminated thus materially expediting the disassembly of the paving forms from the retainers after the concrete has set.

An additional object of my invention is the provision of fasteners of the aforementioned type which are of substantially U-shaped configuration and which are designed to have the bight ends of the U received in longitudinally elongated apertures in the vertical wall of the paving form. The provision of. such U-shaped fasteners provides a more stable and rigid union between the'retainer and the paving form than has been hitherto possible and the assembly of the retainer on the paving form is considerably expedited.

An additional object of my invention is the provision of a spring fastener insertable in the bights of the previously mentioned U-shaped fasteners which project beyond the vertical wall of the paving form, such insertion of the spring fasteners securing the U-shaped fasteners in the apertures provided in the vertical wall of said paving form.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following specification and the accompanying drawing which is for the purpose of illustration only and in which:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view showing a paving dowel supporting structure constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the broken line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, vertical sectional view taken on the broken line 33 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, and particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, I show a paving dowel supporting structure I0 which generally includes a paving form H and a paving dowel retainer [2 securable thereto in a manner which will be made apparent below.

The paving form H consists of elongated segments [4 formed of steel or similar material and having a base portion [5 which rests upon the prepared bed It of the roadway or other surface which is to be covered with concrete. Formed integrally with, or otherwise suitably connected to the base portion 15, is a vertical form wall 18, said wall having secured to the upper edge thereof a tread I!) which receives the wheels of a paving or grading machine and supports the paving or grading machine as it traverses the paving form ll.

In order to illustrate the manner in which the paving form I I and the paving dowel retainer l2 cooperate in configuring the edge of a lane of a concrete roadway, such a lane 22 is partially illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing. The lane 22, when laid by the paving machine, not shown. has a top surface 24 and an edge 25, said edge being configured to intimately mate with an adjacent lane to be subsequently laid in order to prevent the vertical, lateral, and longitudinal shifting of the lane 22 with respect to the lane subsequently laid. As will be readily apparent from consideration of Fig. 1 of the drawing, the edge 25 is provided with top and bottom vertical portions 27 and 28, respectively, which are formed by the engagement of the concrete as it is poured with corresponding portions of the vertical form wall l8 of the paving form II.

The dowel retainer l2 which is a portion of the dowel supporting structure of my invention is constituted by an elongated member 30, said member having a substantially vertical dowel supporting wall 3! which is disposed in substantial parallelism with the vertical form wall l8 of the paving form H and which has integrally formed therewith or otherwise fixedly secured thereto, upper and lower spacing walls 32 and 33, respectively, the upper wall 32 being angularly oriented in an upward direction and having its edge in engagement with the face of the vertical form wall I8, while the lower spacing wall 33 is angularly oriented in a downward direction and has its edge also maintained in engagement with the vertical form wall l8 to define an elongated dowel receiving chamber 35.

Paving dowels 31 are bent into right angles, as

best shown in Fig. l. of the drawing, one leg 38 thereof being disposable in the dowel receiving chamber 35 defined by the dowel retainer l2 and the face of the form wall l3, while the other leg 39 projects from the dowel retainer I2 and the dowel receiving chamber 35 therein through a dowel supporting opening it) provided in the vertical dowel supporting wall 3! of the retainer 12.

When the legs 38 of the dowels 3'! are disposed in the dowel receiving chamber 35 of the dowel retainer l2, the legs 38 of two adjacent dowels 31 overlap each other and serve to prevent the rotation of the legs 39 projecting through the openings 4!] in the dowel supporting wall 3|.

In order to permit the removal of the retainer l2 from the legs 38 of the dowel 31 after the legs 39 thereof have been embedded in the concrete 01' the lane 22, the dowelsare straightened in' the manner shown in Figs. 1 and2 of the drawing However, as will be noted, a pronounced hump or bend. 43. remains in the dowel 31 even after the dowel 'has been .straightened into the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing. This is due to the fact that it is impossible to completely straighten the dowels 31 by the methods'lused in the field and with the tools and at thespeed which is necessary in order that the removal of the retainer I2 from the dowels 31 ported. upon the dowels may be shifted longitudinally in order to permit the retainers to be eased over. the bends or humps 43 which remain in'the dowels 31. This is a very important feature of my invention since it materially expedites both the setting up of the dowel retainers I2 on thedowels 31 in view of the fact that the dowels 31 do not have to I be painstakingly threaded through relatively small openings in the retainers, and. in view of the fact that the dowel retainers I2. can be readily removed from the straightened dowels after the lane 22 of the roadway has been f laid. :In order to prevent the influx of concrete to the interior of the dowel receiving chamber of the retainer I2, I provide sealing means 45 which both encompass the peripheries of the dowels 31 and are supported thereupon in overlying relationship with the over-size dowel supporting openings inlthe vertical supporting wall of the dowel retainer I2. When disposed in such overlying relationship, the sealing means completely cover the openings 45 and prevent the ingress or influx ofconcrete through the openings 40 or past the peripheries of the dowels 31 to the interior of the dowel receiving chamber 35 thus preventing the agglomeration of concrete upon-the dowels inz'the chamber 35 and eliminating the possibility that solidified concrete will prevent the expedi-; tious removal of the retainer I2 from the dowels 31 when such removal becomes necessary.

Thesealing means 45 is exemplified, in the presentembodiment of my invention, by substantially annular sealing elements 41, said elements having substantially rigid skirt portions 48 at the periph eries thereof and being provided with relatively flexible dowel engaging portions 49 which may be resilient in nature to cause them to cling to the peripheries of the dowels 31 with which they are associated to prevent the dislodgement of the sealing elements 41 from the dowels 31 and out of overlying relationship with the over-size openings 4!] in the dowel retainers I2. Although Ifshow the sealing elements 41 as being annular inconfiguration, it is, of course, obvious that the sealing elements 41 are not limited to the specific configuration shown since the shape thereof may be; altered to conform to desirable variations in the shape of the dowels and the shape and overall dimensions-of the openings 40. The prevention of the influx of concrete into the interior of the retainer I2 is a major contribution of 6 my invention since it eliminates much of the difliculty encountered with such influxin prior art constructions and materially expedites the removal of the retainer from the dowels at the cessation of the road laying activities.

Of course, when the dowels 31 are securely disposed in the retainer I2, it is merely necessary to place the sealing means 45 on the individual dowel and run them up against the face of the dowel mounting wall 3i. It is intended that the sealing means of my invention be disposable in nature so that the removal thereof from the dowels 31 after the concrete has. been laid will not be necessary.

Secured to the interior of the vertical dowel supporting wall 3I of the dowel retainer I2, is a plurality of longitudinally spaced fastener means 50, said spaced fastener means being constituted by substantially U-shaped elements 52, the ends of which are fixedly secured to the interior of the vertical wall 3| of the retainer I2 by means of welding, and the bights 54 of which are insertable through elongated openings 55 provided in the vertical form wall I8 of the paving form II. to mount the retainer I2 on the paving form II. After the retainer I 2 is so mounted, a spring clip 51 is disposed between the back of the form wall I8 and the bight 54 of the U-shaped fastener 52. Thus, the dowel retainer I2 is securely fastened to the vertical form wall I8 and, since the ends of the substantially U-shaped fasteners 52 are mounted on the interior of the vertical supporting wall 3| of the retainer I2, and since there is no possibility of influx of concrete into the interior of the chamber 35 due to the provision of the sealing means 45 for the over-size openings 40, and the elimination of fastener receiving holes in the vertical wall 3 I, the engagement of the U- shaped fasteners 52 with the elongated openings 55 in the form wall I8 may be readily released so that the form wall can be easily separated from the retainer during dismounting of the dowel supporting structure I0. Another advantage of the fastening means 50 of my invention is the fact that the elongated openings 55 in the vertical form Wall I8 can be rendered considerably oversize because of the widely spaced bearing of the bight portion 54 of the U-shaped fasteners 52'to facilitate the expeditious mounting of the retainer I 2 on the paving form I I.

The manner in which dowels 31 can be securely, but temporarily, mounted in the dowel supporting structure ID of my invention is as follows: the paving form I I is first securely disposed on a prepared bed I 6 of the roadway adjacent the predetermined edge of the lane 22 and is fastened in such position by conventional fastening means, not shown. The dowels 31, bent into right angle form, are disposed in the retainer I2 in such a manner that the legs 38 of adjacent dowels overlie each other, as best shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing. Of course, the legs 39 of the dowels 31 are permitted to project through the dowel sup porting openings 40 in the vertical dowel supporting wall SI of the retainer I2. At the same time as the dowels are inserted in the retainer I2, the sealing means 45 are disposed upon the legs 39 and moved into overlying relationship with the over-size openings 48 in the retainer I2. The retainer I2 is then moved into position on the vertical form wall I8 of the paving form II so that the U-shaped fasteners 52 may have their bights 54 inserted in the elongated apertures 55 in the vertical form wall I8. After such insertion has been accomplished, the spring fasteners 6.1 are forced between the back of the form wall i8 and the bights 54 of the U-shaped fasteners 52 to securely, but demountably, maintain the retainer [2 on the face of the form wall l8.

When the lane 22 of roadway is laid, an elongated, longitudinally oriented groove 59 is formed by the retainer l2 in the edge of the lane 22 between the upper and lower vertical edges 21 and 28 thereof and the legs 39 of the dowels 31 which project through the openings 40 in the retainer 12 are embedded in the concrete of the lane 22. After the concrete of the lane 22 is cured, the dowel supporting structure It is demounted by removing the paving form H from operative relationship with the retainer l2, this being accomplished by the removal of the spring fasteners 51 from the bights 54 of the U-shaped fasteners 52 and the removal of the vertical form Wall I8 of the paving form I i from engagement with the bights 54 of the U-shaped fasteners 52. Subsequently, the dowels 3? are straightened as well as possible into the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, the small hump or bend 43 remaining therein. Because the openings 40 in the vertical wall 3| are substantially oversize, the humps 43 in the straightened dowels 31 do not prevent the expeditious removal of the retainers l2 therefrom since, as best shown in the dotted lines of Fig. 2 of the drawing, the bends or humps 43 are readily accommodated in the over-size openings 40 and the expeditious removal of the retainer 12 from the straightened dowel 37 is accomplished.

I thus provide by my invention a paving dowel supporting structure which includes a retainer for said dowels having over-size openings therein to facilitate the ready removal of the retainer from the dowels after the concrete has been poured. I also provide by my invention sealing means for preventing the influx of the concrete through the aforesaid over-size openings into the interior of the dowel retainer and improved fastening means for securing the retainer to the paving form with which it is associated which can be readily disengaged from the paving form to facilitate the demounting of the paving dowel structure.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a supporting structure for maintaining a plurality of paving dowels in longitudinal alignment on a paving form having a base and a form wall extending upwardly from said base, the combination of: a unitary elongated dowel retainer mountable on said form wall having a supporting wall disposable in spaced, parallel relationship with said form wall and upper and lower inwardly and angul'arly oriented walls engaging said form wall, said supporting wall having a plurality of dowel receiving openings therein; and fastener means secured to the interior of said supporting wall and inwardly of the exterior of said supporting wall for maintaining said retainer thereupon.

2. In a supporting structure for maintaining a plurality of paving dowels in longitudinal alignment on a paving form having a base and a form wall extending upwardly from said base, the combination of: a unitary elongated dowel retainer mountable on said form wall having a supporting wall disposable in spaced, parallel relationship with said form wall and upper and lower inwardly oriented walls engaging said form wall, said supporting wall having a plurality of dowel receiving openings therein of substantially greater length than the diameters of the dowels extending therethrough; and substantially U-shaped fastener means secured to the interior of said supporting wall whereby the exterior of said supporting wall presents a smooth surface broken onlyby said dowel receiving openings, said fastener means being receivable in said form wall for maintaining said retainer thereupon.

3. In a paving dowel retainer structure, the combination of: a paving form having a base and a form wall connected to said base, said form wall having a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures therein; a unitary elongated member having a plurality of oversize dowel supporting openings formed therein and having inwardly oriented upper and lower walls adapted to engage said form wall, said member having a plurality of fasteners secured to the interior thereof and engageable with said apertures; and sealing means having substantially rigid skirt portions at the peripheries thereof and having flexible dowel engaging portions disposable on said dowels for overlying and sealing said openings to prevent the influx of concrete into said member.

4. In a. paving dowel retainer structure, the combination of: a paving form having a base and a form wall connected to said base, said form wall having a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures therein; and a unitary elongated member having a plurality of longitudinally spaced, dowel supporting holes provided therein and having inwardly oriented upper and lower walls adapted to engage said form wall, said member having a plurality of longitudinally spaced fasteners whose bases are secured to the interior and inwardly of the exterior thereof and engageable with fastening members positioned adjacent said apertures'and bearing on adjacent areas of said form wall.

5. In a paving dowel retainer structure, the combination of: a paving form having a base and a form wall connected to said base, said form wall having a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures therein; a unitary channelshaped elongated member having a plurality of oversize dowel supporting openings formed therein, said member having a plurality of substantially U-shaped fasteners secured to the interior thereof and engageable with said apertures; and sealing means disposable on said dowels for overlying and sealing said openings go prevent the influx of concrete into said mem- 6. In a paving dowel retainer structure, the combination of: a paving form having a base and a form wall connected to said base, said form wall having a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures therein; a unitary channelshaped elongated member having a plurality of longitudinally spaced, dowel supporting holes provided therein, said member. having a plurality of longitudinally spaced fasteners whose bases are securedto the interior and inwardly of the exterior thereof; and elongated fastening members engageable with portions of said fasteners for retaining said elongated member on said form wall.

7. In a paving dowel retainer structure, the combination of: a paving form having a base and a form wall connected to said base, said form wall having a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures therein; a unitary channelshaped elongated member having a plurality of longitudinally spaced, dowel supporting holes provided therein, said member having a plurallty oi longitudinally spaced substantially U-shaped fasteners secured to the interior and inwardly of the exterior thereof engageable with said apertures; and spring members engageable with the bights of said U-shaped fasteners projecting through said apertures for retaining said elongated member on said form wall.

8. In a paving dowel retainer structure, the combination of: a paving form having a base and a form wall connected to said base, said form wall having a plurality oi. longitudinally spaced apertures therein; a unitary channelshaped elongated member having a plurality of longitudinally spaced, dowel supporting holes provided therein, said member having a plurality of longitudinally spaced fasteners secured to the interior and inwardly of the exterior thereof engageable with said apertures; and sealing means disposable on said dowels for overlying and sealing said openings to prevent the influx of concrete into said member.

9. In a supporting structure for maintaining a plurality of paving dowels in longitudinal alignment on a paving form having a base and a form wall extending upwardly from said base, the combination of: a unitary elongated dowel 10 retainer mountable on said form wall having a supporting wall disposable in spaced, parallel relationship with said form wall and upper and lower inwardly oriented walls engaging said form wall, said supporting wall having a' plurality of dowel receiving openings therein; and a plurality of longitudinally spaced fastener means secured to the interior of said supporting wall and receivable in said form wall for maintaining said retainer thereupon.

JAMES S. STEWART.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 995,630 Naugle June 20, 1911 1,939,007 Heltzel Dec. 12, 1933 2,020,912 Schenk Nov. 12, 1935 2,107,427 Schwarzler Feb. 8, 1938 2,162,592 Schenk June 13, 1939 2,273,198 Hillberg Feb, 17, 1942 2,489,851 Bean Nov. 29, 1949 2,586,912 Braun Febfi26, 1952 

